Top Current Affairs 14 January 2021

Top Current Affairs 14 January 2021

Top Current Affairs 14 January 2021: This post contains the latest current affairs for 14 January 2021 that are important for all competitive exams like Bank, SSC, IBPS, SBI exams. You can also attempt our Current Affairs Quiz after reading our daily current affairs.

National

Suriname’s Indian-Origin President to be 2021 Republic Day of India Chief Guest, After Boris Johnson Cancels Visit

• As per the data released by PMO, the President of the Republic of Suriname, Chandrikapersad Santokhi, will be the chief guest of India’s Republic Day parade on January 26, 2021.
• It must be noted that, earlier Britain Prime Minister Boris Johnson was invited as Chief Guest but he had cancelled his visit to India over new Coronavirus strain fears.
• The Indian-origin Santokhi was also the chief guest at the Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas 2021.
• Chandrikapersad Santokhi was sworn in as the President of Suriname on July 16, 2020 and took the oath in Sanskri.

Naveen Patnaik inaugurates India’s first ‘Fire Park’ in Bhubaneswar

• The Chief Minister of Odisha, Naveen Patnaik virtually inaugurated a first of its kind ‘Fire Park’, to educate and bring awareness on basic fire safety measures among the people, particularly the students.
• The ‘Fire Park’ is located inside the premises of the Odisha Fire and Disaster Academy in Bhubaneswar.
• The minister also launched an online portal, ‘AgnishamaSeva’ of Odisha Fire Service.
• The fire park will facilitate demonstrations on use of first aid fire-fighting equipment, rescue and disaster operations, visit to exhibition hall, screening of films and distribution of leaflets on fire safety.

Insurance

IRDAI Constitutes Panel of Experts, under Subhash Chandra Khuntia, to examine the availability of health insurance products

• Insurance regulator IRDAI has set up a panel of experts called ‘Health Insurance Advisory Committee’ to examine the availability of health insurance products in the country, considering the need of the Indian society and recommend suitable products and processes.
• The expert committee will be headed by IRDAI Chairperson, Subhash Chandra Khuntia and will have a Member (Non-Life) as the vice-chairperson.
• The committee, which has a term of one year.
• Members of the committee include:
  • Nachiket Mor (Visiting Scientist, Banyan Academy of Leadership in Mental Health),
  • A K Chand (Professor and Neurosurgeon, Bangalore),
  • B K Mohanti (Former Professor and Oncologist, AIIMS),
  • K Hari Prasad (Anaesthetist, Hyderabad), and Pankaj Sharma (IRDAI).

Banking & Economy

RBI forms six-member working group to regulate digital lending frauds; Head- Jayant Kumar Dash, Executive Director, RBI 

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has set up a working group to study digital lending activities of the regulated and unregulated players, due to the growing instances of frauds in digital lending space.
• The six-member panel comprises of following four RBI internal and two external members:

1. 1. Jayant Kumar Dash, Executive Director, RBI (Chairman)
   2. Ajay Kumar Choudhary, Chief General Manager-in-Charge, Department of Supervision (Member)
   3. P Vasudevan, Chief General Manager, Department of Payment and Settlement Systems, RBI (Member)
   4. Manoranjan Mishra, Chief General Manager, Department of Regulation (Member Secretary)
   5. Vikram Mehta, Co-founder, Monexo Fintech (External Member)
   6. Rahul Sasi, Cyber Security Expert & Founder of CloudSEK (External Member)

Nomura Estimates India’s GDP to contract 6.7% in FY21

• The Japanese brokerage Nomura has revised upward, the GDP forecast for India in 2020-21 and now expects it to contract to 6.7 percent.
• Nomura has further projected the GDP of India to rise to 13.5 percent in FY22 (2021-22).

UBS Projects GDP of India at -7.5% in 2020-21

• Swiss brokerage major UBS Investment Bank has projected the Indian economy to contract 7.5 percent in the current fiscal FY21, ending March 2021.
• UBS further expects the economy to rebound at 11.5 percent in FY22.
• For the FY23, GDP growth is expected to stabilise at 6 percent.

BofA Securities Projects GDP of India to Contract 6.7% in FY21′

• The BofA Securities expects the GDP growth of India for the current financial year 2020-21 to contract by 6.7 percent.
• Apart from this, BofA Securities has projected the Indian economy to grow at 9 percent in 2021-22 if the vaccine distribution is done in the first half of the new fiscal year, but it expects GDP growth prospects at just at 6 percent if the distribution is delayed to the second half of 2021-22 (October-March).

Books & Author

Najma Heptulla Releases book titled Making of a General-A Himalayan Echo

• Manipur Governor Dr Najma Heptulla released a book titled “Making of a General-A Himalayan Echo”  virtually on January 8, 2021.
• The book has been authored by (Retd) Lt General Konsam Himalay Singh, in which he has conveyed his dreams and views as well as also highlighted about Manipur, the “Land of Emeralds”.
• “Making of a General’ is the memoir of Lt Gen (Dr) Himalay Singh who has traced his journey from a small village in Manipur to becoming the first person from North East India to hold the rank of a Three Star General of the Indian Army.
• Konark Publishers Pvt Ltd  is the publisher of the book.

Obituary

Social Activist and Padma Shri Awardee D Prakash Rao passes away at 63

• Noted social activist and Padma Shri winner, D Prakash Rao has passed away following a brain stroke. He was 63.
• Rao was basically a tea seller based in Cuttack, who spent his entire earning to educate slum children, through the school ‘Asha O Ashwasana’, which he started in 2000.
• He was conferred with the prestigious Padma Shri award in 2019 for his contribution towards boosting the value of education among slum kids in Cuttack.
• Apart from this, Rao was also a well-known blood donor. 

Days

Armed Forces Veterans Day: 14 January

• In India, the Armed Forces Veterans Day is observed each year on 14 January since 2017 to acknowledge and honour the selfless devotion and sacrifice of our veterans in the service of the nation.
• The day is observed as a mark of respect and recognition of the services rendered by Field Marshal KM Cariappa OBE, the first Indian Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Armed Forces who retired on 14 January 1953.
• 2021 marks the 5th Armed Forces Veterans Day.